This weekend saw the first art exhibition to be held at the new Legacy XS Centre in Benfleet. Resident artist Ali Birch (18) exhibited a large number of his works as well as working on a piece throughout the weekend. Peter Hillman, manager of Legacy XS said "We have been very keen from the beginning to see the centre used for more than just extreme sports. As well as the youngsters involved in Skateboarding, BMX and rollerblading we have a large number of people who just come to use the café as a place to hang out. We are keen that areas such as the arts are explored in the Centre and we are delighted that Ali has been able to use the space to showcase his work."

Ali, of Hill Road Benfleet, was delighted with the exhibition saying "It's been a great opportunity to put my work on display at Legacy XS. I love the space as it is so full of people enjoying themselves most of the time. I can't wait to see how the place is used in the future for other installations."

Ali, has just completed his A level art and is due to start studying at Thurrock college in September. His inspiration largely comes from his faith but he also has a number of influences which overlap with this including outdoor pursuits, extreme sports and masculine spirituality. He uses a number of different media for his creations and sees all of his work as acts of worship to the author and source of all creation. The piece you see Ali working on is focussed on masculine spirituality and picks up on the dual nature of Christ as man and God. It was modelled by Luke Gunn-Lee.

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